Following a report , the Nigerian Army Special Investigations Bureau has arrested a soldier over the attempted kidnapping of an Abuja-based entrepreneur, Justice Ezeh, in September 2023.
This development came as operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command apprehended one of his accomplices, a civilian who impersonated a soldier to commit the act.
However, a third suspect is currently on the run, while both the Army and the police have detained the arrested soldier and civilian, respectively.
A Nigerian Army Captain, Chime, disclosed the arrest during a telephone conversation, inviting our correspondent to assist with the ongoing investigation into the matter.
“We have arrested the one who is a soldier amongst them, and he is in our custody. We’re inviting you to come assist us with our investigation into the incident,” Captain Chime noted.
Meanwhile, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, also confirmed the arrest of the second suspect by the police.
“Yes, the second suspect is in our custody, and investigation is ongoing,” Adeh noted.
On September 17, 2023, it was reported how neighbours thwarted an attempt by hoodlums dressed in Nigerian Army camouflage uniform, disguised as officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces, to kidnap Mr Ezeh.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, September 16, when the kidnappers arrived at Ezeh’s residence in Dogongada village, in the Kabusa-Lokogoma area of the Federal Capital Territory.
The suspected kidnappers came in a navy blue Peugeot car with tinted glass, bearing no number plate at the rear, while a number plate AX-506-BWR was attached to the front of the vehicle.
Residents recounted that the three kidnappers, two of whom were dressed in Nigerian Army uniform and a third in mufti, arrived at Ezeh’s house around 12pm on Saturday. One of them entered his room to drag him out, attempting to force him into the car and drive off.
“They arrived here around 12pm on Saturday, and I saw the two men dressed in military uniform enter the compound, so I went to call on other male neighbours in the area because I thought they were soldiers who came to beat up the guy. I was surprised when we later discovered that they’re not soldiers but hoodlums,” a resident identified as Kingsley said.
In response to the incident, Ezeh called for drastic actions against criminal impersonators, while commending the intervention of neighbours which prevented a potentially fatal outcome.
He said, “Thanks to my neighbours, I could have been a dead man by now, or those guys would have just kept me somewhere asking for ransom.
“They arrived at my house at about 12pm, and one of them came directly into my room, while one stood inside the compound, and the other one that was in mufti stood outside. They had an electric shocker with them, and they came in a tinted car with no number plate at the back.
“They tried to drag me out, but I started shouting. They couldn’t explain why they came; they only said I was under arrest.
“But when neighbours heard my noise and came to my aid, they lied that I was a fraudster and they had information about me.
“So, we told them to call the police or the EFCC if their allegations were true, but they refused, and when we asked for their ID cards, they couldn’t provide them. We have videos recorded during the incident.
“When they noticed that a neighbour had called the police, they ran into their car and fled. I’ve reported the matter at the police station in Kabusa market, and the police promised to go after them.”
When contacted in September over the attempted kidnap incident, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Adeh, vowed that the police would apprehend the suspects.
“We’ll go after them. The CP has warned against such vehicles without complete number plates in the FCT as they’ve been found to be used in perpetrating crimes,” Adeh had said.
Similarly, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, assured of efforts to arrest the perpetrators.
“We’ll do our best to get them. Such criminals can kill anybody because of money. They’re criminals. The Provost Marshal and the Chief of Military Intelligence would be informed to get them arrested,” Onyema promised.
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